Omnia Sol Temperat
by SakuraIro25
Summary: [rating upped] It's Spring 2001. Subaru acts as both the Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori, Fuuma acts as both Dragon of Heaven and Dragon of Earth. Yet neither is a whole. Surely they can share an apartment without killing each other or angsting to death, no?
1. Prologue

  
  
_Omnia sol temperat purus et subtilis,   
novo mundo reserat faciem Aprilis,   
ad amorem properat animus herilis,   
et iocundis imperat deus puerilis._   
  


 -- Carmina Burana, Movement 4   
  
  
  
**Omina Sol Temperat** - Prologue   
  
Subaru looked up from the ancient text and rubbed his eyes blearily. He'd heard the doorbell, and he wondered what time it was. He'd sat down with the musty scrolls shortly after the evening meal, so it would either be extremely late, or sometime in the early morning.   
  
Passing a window, he shielded his eyes; it must be more like mid-morning. He groaned.   
  
He opened the door to a very startled young man. Had Subaru been any less groggy, he would have been more than equally startled to see the visitor, who by all records, should have been dead.   
  
"K-konnichi wa… Sumeragi-san?"   
  
He blinked several times, knowing how frayed he must look. When the cogs in his mind caught and began turning, he finally responded. "Aah… Monou-kun." He chose the name carefully.   
  
The youth was dressed in simple faded jeans and a loose white t-shirt, so any reference to the name he used eighteen months ago would probably disturb him unnecessarily. His family name was safe enough. If anything of the sadistic side remained, he would respond immediately, and Subaru would then be sure of who he was dealing with. "Would you… come in?"   
  
He bowed, slightly, asking pardon for the unexpected intrusion. Subaru waved it away. "Would you like if I made some tea?"   
  
"That would be nice," he replied. As always, the issue he had come to discuss was best left for after small talk.   
  
Subaru busied himself. "Make yourself at home. My apartment isn't large, but hopefully it's comfortable." Fuuma toed off his shoes at the door and sat somewhat nervously on the overstuffed beige canvas sofa.   
  
Subaru called from the nearby kitchen, "How have you been, Monou-kun?" but immediately realized it was a stupid question. It couldn't be answered it truthfully in the context of light conversation.   
  
"Fine, I guess…"   
  
Subaru didn't press him. "Do you want honey…?"   
  
"Aah. Thank you."   
  
Subaru brought two oversized mugs and a plate of cream-filled cookies on a tray, placed it in the middle of the sofa, and sat on the other end. The teen readily accepted the warm drink, obviously grateful for the distraction.   
  
He sipped from the mug and looked up at his host. "Is this a bad time..?"   
  
"You mean my face?" Subaru laughed, dryly. "It's just that I get absorbed into my research."   
  
"Ah… What kind?" he asked, curiously.   
  
Subaru took a deep breath. "There were some documents at the Sumeragi estate that Grandmother sent me… apparently they've been sealed until after the millennium, and they just opened. She sent them to me because I'm the clan leader. It's my job to decipher them."   
  
"But it's 2001 now…"   
  
"Yes, the millennium begins in January of the first year. Most people don't realize that." He smiled and took a sip of his tea, changing the subject "So, Monou-kun, what have you been up to?"   
  
"Iro iro, ne… Re-enrolling in school, basketball championships this spring, and taking on the responsibilities of the shrine…"   
  
"Sounds like a lot of work, being the head preist."   
  
"Actually, you'd be surprised. Tougakushi doesn't have much of a role to perform without its hidden sword…" and Subaru knew this was as close as the boy would come to talking about the events of last year, this early in the visit. Fuuma sighed slightly. "I just make sure the place stays clean, now."   
  
They chatted idly, though more than slightly guarded, for another half hour before Subaru couldn't refrain from asking him a few serious questions.   
  
"Monou-kun…" he wondered if there was an appropriate way to ask a question like this. "What do you remember of the past two years?"   
  
Fuuma bit his lip. "Do you want the entire story?"   
  
"Please."   
  
Fuuma laughed. "That's actually the reason I came over, today. There's no one else I can talk to, and I don't know how much is real…" He looked up, questioningly. "There's a lot I'd like to know, myself."   
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 1

**Omina**** Sol Temperat - Chapter 1**

Sitting tensely on the overstuffed couch, Fuuma pulled one leg underneath him and turned to face the bleary-eyed medium. He placed the mug of tea on the tray, then picked it back up again and squeezed it between his palms, nervously. Subaru didn't force eye contact. 

The boy struggled for a place to begin. He finally looked up at his host with pained eyes, as if anywhere he began would be inadequate.  He eventually resorted to following a broken train of thought. "Sumeragi-san... I'm sorry." 

Subaru blinked. This wasn't what he expected to hear from someone who he'd seen destroy entire buildings. "I don't think I could be forgiven for what I've done, to anyone, but especially to you… but I thought… I know it's selfish to… but would you…"

Subaru cut him off. "Monou-kun, you're babbling." He took a sip from his mug. "Let me guess at what happened, and then you'll tell me how far off the mark I was. Okay?" 

Fuuma nodded, staring at his hands. Startled, he released the mug from the death-grip he'd been holding. He sighed, still avoiding the older man's eyes. "I…" he scanned the floor. 

"Monou-kun. Monou Fuuma. Listen well." Subaru's voice was clipped, raw from exhaustion. "I don't hold you responsible. I don't bear grudges against anyone, especially against one who acted against their will." He took a long pause, breathing evenly, trying not to think too hard about Seishirou-san. "As for my…" he gestured toward his face, "…it is better this way. If it bothers you to look at it, I could find a pair of sunglasses, perhaps. But either way, it is not something I hold against you." In a quieter tone, he added a coda. "It was my wish, after all."

"Then you… You for-?"

"Forgive you? Fuuma, there is nothing to forgive. But if it makes you feel better, then I forgive you now." Subaru was losing the edge of his patience. Going without sleep never affected him much before, he wondered if he were already getting old. He couldn't go quite as long without eating, either, which puzzled him, but for his visitor's sake, he would not be rude simply because he was tired.

Fuuma's eyes were closed. He took a long breath, breathed it out steadily, and relaxed somewhat. "Thank you, Sumeragi-san," he said in a quiet, clear tone. 

Subaru rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. A word of forgiveness was something the boy probably needed to hear before he could talk about this easily. "Alright, let me start. If anything is incorrect, feel free to stop me. Then I'll pose some questions. Between us, we'll figure out something."

He nodded, hesitatingly.

"Do I need to tell you what happened to your sister," he asked, with falling intonation. 

Fuuma shook his head, "I remember it."

"And the remainder of that year?"

He shook his head again, passively. "That was why I felt I had to apologize about your eye."

Subaru's brow tensed quickly. Since he was obviously no longer 'Kamui', Fuuma would naturally feel disgust at what he did. The dark 'Kamui' seemed to understand what had happened to him, but eerily, he didn't show any outward signs of distress. Subaru decided to see if he were repressing negative feelings, or was simply as numb as he appeared to be.  

"And Kamui? Do you remember what happened to him," he asked directly, motivated by a strange curiosity. "Tell me in your own words." 

He looked up from the mug, meeting Subaru's eyes. His voice was clear and steady. 

"It was at Tokyo Tower, when he and I fought, as destiny foretold, that I pierced his heart with the shinken. Before he died, he placed his hand over my heart to create a kekkai, which shielded the world. Naturally, since he was close to death, the kekkai wasn't stable, so I granted his last wish.

"Kamui wished to protect the world in which I lived. There was also guilt for his choice that made me hurt the ones I loved, and Kamui wished for my happiness. For as long as it took to stabilize the kekkai, Kamui became a Dragon of Earth, making the kekkai mine, and then he died… That was his wish." 

Fuuma sipped his lukewarm tea, then swished it around in the mug. "Do you mind if I microwave this? It's getting cool." 

Subaru shook his head, mute. He was too stunned at the revelation to voice anything. His eyes fluttered and closed. 

"…Are you okay?" Fuuma had returned from the kitchen. 

Subaru lied easily. "Just tired." 

"Your voice sounds awful. Is there honey in your tea?"

"No."

"Then here, take mine, and I'll be right back."

When Fuuma returned the second time, Subaru had resolved to take control of the conversation. He wouldn't let fatigue and stress overtake him.

"Fuuma."

"Drink up, Sumeragi-san. It's good for you."

Grudgingly, he took a sip before continuing. "Tell me directly, if Kamui became a Dragon of Earth, what did that make you, during those three seconds?"

"Dragon of Heaven, I think."

Subaru nodded, that made sense. "And because you two changed positions, the kekkai now protecting this world is yours?"

"When Kamui died, his kekkai would have fallen. To keep it, he gave the power of maintaining a kekkai to me. If he hadn't, then the destruction of the world would have occurred as he died." 

"Is it active maintenance?"

"Not that it requires constant attention, no."

"Now that the kekkai is yours, if something happens to you," he refrained from biting his lip, "the kekkai will… and the destruction that happened to the earth..." 

Fuuma chuckled, "I'm the only one standing between the world and total chaos, yes."

Subaru shot him an appraising look. "You seem fairly nonchalant." 

Fuuma frowned and shrugged, taking a cookie. "I accepted this. He wished me to be happy, so here I am." He nibbled. "Kotori, too. I remember killing her, but I can't force myself to feel much about it." He nodded, gesturing towards Subaru's face. "It's not that I don't feel guilt, however. If there's something I can do to atone for what I did, I'll do it. It's just that I can't ask forgiveness from Kamui or Kotori, because they're gone, and I can't feel sorry for them anymore."

Subaru almost laughed bitterly at the irony.  "Isn't it nice to be able to let go of loved ones so easily?" The somewhat diluted acid in Subaru's words surprised Fuuma, who flinched. 

"I killed my sister. Then I killed someone I loved deeply, with my own hand." Subaru shook his head. "There hasn't been a day I haven't hated myself," he gasped. "How can you let it go, how can you be this casual?" Subaru's words would have been painted with anger, but they instead sounded hollow and bruised. 

"Sumeragi-san, your hands are shaking."

He set down the still full mug. "And you…"

"Look, you're obviously frazzled, Sumeragi-san." He smiled, sadly. "I do miss Kamui. It's my fault I couldn't protect him, and for that…"

"No, don't lie. You feel nothing."

Fuuma looked him in the eye again. "Not by choice." 

Subaru was sickened. Fuuma had no idea what he'd gone through, and probably never would. He could feel a tremendous headache coming on, building behind his eyes. 

"You should be dead." Subaru said, flatly. 

He remembered the final day with perfect clarity, the day he had nearly died, waiting for the promised day's battle to finish. He believed, with all his soul, that if by some miracle the world didn't end, he would protect Kamui every day from then on, as long as they were both alive. The expanding spherical kekkai that had saved his life was Kamui's, and he felt a flash of selfish hope that he and Kamui would be able to help each other heal. He wanted to hug Kamui, comfort him, and tell him it would be all right, and Subaru knew he would never need to be alone again. Fate wouldn't take away someone else he held precious. 

But when he reached the tower, it was empty. He spent the next full week searching for Kamui until he decided to check Kotori's grave site, where he found a second plot that he assumed was her older brother's, until he noticed the name inscribed above it.  Subaru had not allowed himself to cry, that day. Nor would he allow himself to go Within, as he did when Seishirou-san had died. He had just walked through Ueno that afternoon, smoking, until he finally collapsed against the Tree to sleep. 

"You should be dead," he repeated.

In his haze, he barely noticed Fuuma wiping his eyes. The usually even voice cracked as he spoke. "That's…" 

Subaru swallowed thickly, a wash of guilt chilling his skin; he had had no right to say that to anyone, even Fuuma. He was on the verge of taking it back when he was interrupted.

"T-That's what I came to talk to you about." His head fell to his palms, muffling his voice. "I should be dead. And I don't expect you to help me, because of what I did, but I really… you're the only one who can help… but you have every right to hate me…" He wiped his eyes, breathing deeply. "I'm not making sense, am I?"

Subaru held silent; even the person who killed Kamui deserved a chance to explain himself.

"I don't know what's happening to me, but I sometimes… black out, and then I wake up, and I don't know what happened." 

Subaru looked at him speculatively, as fatigue took over again. "Periodically lose consciousness?" He felt a sudden unwanted stab of sympathy.

"And when I wake up, it's usually in a place, or…" he shuddered, "something I've done." He frowned. "You're an onmyouji, aren't you?"

"You should see a doctor, not a medium. They could help you more than I could."

He laughed detachedly. "It would do no good." He shook his head. "When I wake up… I'm usually where I was when I was the Dragon of Earth's Kamui… And I can't explain it."

"Does that disturb you?" His tone was eclipsed by exhaustion. 

"I just… don't feel sorry. It think that was a condition of Kamui's wish… I'm not supposed to feel upset about that year, or something. I remember it all clearly, but…"

"So. You would feel more comfortable if someone were watching you," his eyes were closed, "in case you black out again." Subaru, feeling sick, knew he shouldn't be offering this.  

Fuuma nodded, solemnly. "I hate to ask this of you… I just don't know what else to do."

"There's a spare bedroom in the back." Subaru stood, clearing the mugs and plate. He continued speaking as he left the room. "There's one bathroom. Spare key is on the table by the door. Don't worry about rent. I never cook, takeout number is on the fridge." He rinsed their mugs, emptying them. "And don't disturb me while I'm reading or working." Fuuma watched as Subaru left the main area of the apartment. A door closed, quietly. 

After a breath, Subaru sank against the bedroom door, holding back tears. He changed into pajamas, skipping a shower, and slipping under a heavy comforter, couldn't decide if he felt more jealousy than hate for the Monou kid to whom he was offering sanctuary. 


	3. Chapter 2

**Omina Sol Temperat** - Chapter 2   
  
  
Usually, when he woke in the early evening, there would be an encouraging note under a cold bowl of stew or rice, urging him to eat so he could continue with his research. If not for the meal tray left at his bedside, Subaru wouldn't have known he shared the living space with another soul. Subaru smiled a little at that gesture, wondering at the fact that he still needed a caretaker at his age, though he didn't object.   
  
On his nocturnal schedule, Subaru didn't have much time in contact with his housemate, but he actually preferred it that way. Fuuma was free to do as he wished, and if there was any major problem, he figured that Fuuma would alert him so he could intervene before anything disastrous happened.   
  
  
  
Tonight, on the fourth evening Fuuma would be a guest, Subaru could only poke at the curry that was left for him. Something felt different, and the unfamiliarity of the atmosphere made him somewhat anxious.   
  
Where was Fuuma? Subaru padded from room to room, but it seemed Fuuma was out. The apartment was dark and empty. Subaru had never asked about his schedule, and he didn't expect that the kid would stay locked indoors all hours of the day. Fuuma slept at night, which was when Subaru was most active. After ten in the evening, Subaru was either out of the apartment or locked into his room with books until the sun rose.   
  
Restless, he decided that he wouldn't be able to decipher much tonight in his state. He thought about going for a walk, though he realized that he was using quite a bit of ofuda lately, and it would be best to create some more before his next engagement.   
  
  
Subaru dressed in his white and blue shikifuku, splashed cold tap water on his face, and set about measuring and cutting the white typing paper to the correct proportions, using the fine blade of the Onmyouji dagger. He knew that technically he should have used traditional paper and appropriate water, but he found that anything worked equally well, and special adherence tradition didn't seem to bother him much anymore.   
  
He ran the pliant wolf-hair tip through a saucer of ink, soaking each bristle, running off the excess on the edge. He held the bamboo brush carefully, and breathing deeply, set about instilling power into each stroke he wrote. Making ofuda was calming, in a way. He would enjoy this. The action let him clear his mind and clarify the connection with his onmyoujitsu. When he'd made two dozen, he set the slips out to dry.   
  
He then changed to another set of shikifuku and splashed his face with scalding water. Subaru held his palm above the saucer, and there was a flash of power, a stinging light, and the ink was ready. Generally, Sakurazukamori ofuda weren't any more difficult, but they required more concentration and were more exhausting to make. Black paper, for one, was harder to obtain, and he couldn't afford to waste any at the rate he was using it.   
  
When his work was complete, he glanced at the wall clock and flinched. He'd been productive, but he hadn't been watching the time, and it was nearly midnight.   
  
Fuuma still wasn't back yet.   
  
'Apparently, Fuuma has a social life,' Subaru thought to himself less bitterly than absently. Subaru thought his life was more than enough to handle on its own; he didn't need friends to make demands on his scarce time.   
  
But lately, Subaru had missed being around people… The events of 1999 had softened him until the hollow feeling flowed like molasses through his veins once more. Perhaps even the proximity of another person, even if that person happened to be the old Dragon of Earth's Kamui, would help purge a small amount of the loneliness he wouldn't let himself admit to.   
  
'Stranger things have happened,' Subaru reflected. 'Being in the company of an enemy…' But he shook his head to clear it from the path his thoughts wanted to travel. He wanted to believe that the year he spent with Seishirou, the man who had tried to murder him, had been the happiest of his life. But Seishirou had shown him the naiveté of trusting someone, and at the moment, he didn't feel like drawing parallels between Seishirou and Fuuma.   
  
Seishirou was Seishirou, and Fuuma was just some child he was taking in as a favor. They weren't actually that similar in character or circumstance. Not really.   
  
Subaru gathered the fresh ofuda into their respective piles. He rinsed out the opaque white ink into the sink, hoping it wasn't toxic to groundwater or anything… one never knew.   
  
He checked the clock one again; he still had nearly an hour before he wanted to take care of tonight's business, and he was already dressed. Subaru wondered if he should eat, just to pass the time. He could make ramen, so he set about filling a pot with water.   
  
A phone rang, and Subaru wondered when he'd gotten a phone. He located the source of the noise and picked up the cell – it had to be Fuuma's.   
  
Subaru stared at it, weighing the options. Answering someone else's phone would be rude, but the call was probably important, because no one makes social calls in the middle of the night.   
  
Subaru answered, issuing a tentative greeting. "Moshi moshi?"   
  
The voice on the other end was gasping, hysterical, and rough with exertion. "Sumeragi-san! Th-thank God you're awake."   
  
"…Fuuma?"   
  
Subaru bit his lip. "Fuuma… where are you? What's going on?"   
  
"At-at a pay phone." The answer was shaky. "I'm in Shinjuku... Do you think… Would…"   
  
"What do you need?"   
  
There was an extended pause. "Come pick me up? I don't think I can make it back on my own." The voice sounded nearly lifeless over the line.   
  
"It's good you left your phone here."   
  
"Yeah. Forgot it."   
  
"You blacked out again." Subaru wasn't accusing.   
  
Fuuma said nothing, then whispered, "I'm really sorry for asking this of you… Can you find me?"   
  
"Yes. I'll be there in a minute." He didn't like subways, and his current state of dress eliminated any form of public transportation. Rooftops would be faster, anyway.   
  
"Aah… thank you, Sumeragi-san."   
  
  
Within fifteen minutes, Subaru had located Fuuma huddled in an alleyway between a manga store and a sports outlet. There seemed to be no physical damage to his body; he hadn't been attacked. It's possible he was simply scared when he 'woke up' in a different location.   
  
"Fuuma."   
  
The form didn't move.   
  
"Fuuma, let's get you back. It's all right now."   
  
When Fuuma didn't respond a second time, Subaru knelt and placed a hand on Fuuma's shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong?"   
  
The timbre of the response told of all the emotion he kept himself from showing. "The people… all these people…" He gasped for a breath. "I was on the roof. The roof would have…"   
  
Subaru waited for him to continue.   
  
"Sumeragi-san… all these people would have died." He nodded to the busy street. "They would have all been dead right now. And it would have been my fault."   
  
"Why?"   
  
"…I was about to destroy the building. Again." Fuuma's shoulders started to shake. "Take me back… please…"   
  
Suabru frowned slightly. The last time Shinjuku had been in danger was three years ago, when a girl named Satsuki wanted to destroy it, along with the protective kekkai. The last time Fuuma had been to this building, it had been to fill the "wish" of a girl named Yuzuriha Nekoi by taking her life.   
  
Subaru wondered how much had really changed in three years.   
  
He helped the boy get to his feet. Fuuma finally looked up, but didn't say anything at the black ceremonial kimono of the Sakurazukamori. He must have at least assumed this turn of events.   
  
"Prepare yourself. Since you're taller than I am, you will need to grasp my hand. I cannot lift you." Fuuma nodded slowly, doing what he was asked. He obviously remembered the Seals' method of transportation.   
  
  
Subaru dropped him off at the apartment before immediately going out again. "Will you be all right, for a few hours? I have business."   
  
"Aah." The 'business' was fairly obvious.   
  
"Get some sleep, Fuuma. If you're up in the morning, I'd like to talk to you about some things."   
  
Fuuma nodded again.   
  
"De wa," he turned, dark shikifuku fluttering.   
  
  
Fuuma didn't sleep. He lay in the guest room for a long while, trying to piece the things he remembered into some kind logical form.   
  
"I didn't want them to die," he moaned into the sheets. "I didn't want them to die…"   
  
But then why had he stood on the roof of the tallest building, palm pressed to the cement and stinging with power?   
  
He didn't remember. It didn't make any sense.   
  
And the longer he waited the more panicked his thoughts became. Hopefully Subaru would return quickly. Hopefully Subaru knew something he did not. Something horrible was wrong with him. He wanted to figure it out before something worse happened. Unless it already had. He didn't know, he didn't remember.   
  
He needed Subaru to come back quickly.


	4. Chapter 3

_Okay, I know nothing about the history of __Japan__ except what I dug up via Google, so if it's wrong, let me know... I'm guessing the scroll was written in 1615, which is twelve years after the start of the isolationist __Edo__ period. Why 1615? Because Subaru's the 13th clan head, and __Edo__ is cool.   
  
"Senkari" is spelled with the "sen" kanji of "uranai", divination, and the complex "ken" kanji of "kengen", power and authority. I thought his political name should have something to do with these two concepts.   
  
_  
  
  
  
  
  
**Omina Sol Temperat - Chapter 3**   
  
  
  
Several days passed like this. When Subaru had jobs, he returned from them shortly after dawn, pre-soaking his laundry in a bizarre, yet effective, mix of cold club soda and shampoo. The nights he didn't have a job he spent deciphering the ancient texts, which he enjoyed, despite the tedious nature of the assignment. He'd often thought that translation was more his forte than murder.   
  
Having Fuuma around meant nothing more than regular meals and less takeout, even if the boy would only cook anything that had directions on the side of the box. Fuuma had said something about proper nutrition and anemia, and had left a bottle of vitamin supplements next to his keys. He hadn't said anything since, so Subaru took one nightly.   
  
He drew a glass of water from the sink and swallowed.   
  
Fuuma was napping on the couch, even though it was only nine in the evening, and Subaru, taking the remote, flipped the television off to conserve power. Subaru realized that the former Dragon of Earth really looked innocent like this. He was breathing shallowly and evenly.   
  
Subaru sat on the far cushion. He unlaced the heavy boots – they would be uncomfortable if Fuuma slept here for very long. Sure enough, the white socks were creased awkwardly. Suabru paired the boots on the floor and reached to massage a foot in his lap.   
  
Fuuma shifted, exhaling.   
  
Subaru stopped, blinking, horrified. He couldn't remember why he'd started caressing Monou-kun's foot like that. He stood, he had work to do.   
  
  
  
The scroll sent to him from Grandmother was in surprisingly good condition for its age. The silk was becoming discolored, but no sections of the text were missing. He just hoped the humidity of Tokyo's air wouldn't destroy it, now that it was unsealed and exposed.   
  
The script style was ancient, probably of the late Hsing-shu style: it was difficult to pick out individual strokes, as gorgeous and harmonious as they were together. Subaru frowned, biting his lip, copying the character to a legal notepad on his knee. Each line of twelve characters took an hour or more to translate.   
  
From time to time, he had a sudden flash of magical insight. He'd tried using Onmyoujyutsu to decipher all of the text, but that hadn't worked, so he sat tediously copying the ancient Chinese characters and referencing a dictionary. It was hit-and-miss, but generally just miss. Nights like tonight were particularly frustrating.   
  
After a full year and a half, he was nearing the end of the passage. He'd be able to write a formal translation to send to Grandmother soon. Subaru hadn't planned what to do with his time once the scroll translation was complete; he supposed he'd need something else to preoccupy himself with if he wanted to keep his sanity.   
  
Subaru rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, and taking a break, rewound the scroll and read the opening passage. He'd found several mistakes in his first translation attempts. He'd found it helped to periodically re-read sections he hadn't looked at in a while.   
  
--   
_In the Twelfth Year of the Edo Bakufu, under his royal Emperor Tokugawa Hidetada, Sumeragi Senkari, the First Leader of the Sumeragi line of the Onmyoudou, writing to the forordianed Master of Onmyoujyutsu whom shall participate in the Destined Day.   
  
This document will be sealed only to open after the Destined Day, to be read should the world not perish, and is to be read only by the Sumeragi Order of Onmyoudou's surviving Clan Leader. This document contains record and prophecy of the division and reunification of the sects within the practice of Onmyoudou, and this document shall remain sealed and remain in the care of the Sumeragi family until the time of its reading, the information contained lost.   
  
It has been prophecised that the nation will be in need of a Sumeragi Clan Leader to aid the Dragons of Heaven in protecting the world from destruction. The surviving Master of Onmyoudu, I humbly commend your contribution to the battle for the fate of the World. If prophecy and vision are correct, your skill, power, and sacrifices are great indeed. _  
--   
  
_'You have no idea,'_ he thought. _'You wouldn't be praising me if you could see me now, Senkari-sama.' _  
  
Subaru's stomach let out an undignified growl.   
  
He re-rolled the scroll and padded to the kitchen to look for leftovers. Fuuma wouldn't have cooked anything if he were as tired as he looked, but at least he hadn't had an incident in the past few days. Subaru wasn't sure if he could deal with Fuuma's problems after all. Or for that matter, if Fuuma could deal with his misantrhropy. At least they weren't in each other's way.   
  
There was nothing in the fridge, so Subaru pulled a blue box from the pantry shelf. He'd gotten the salted water boiling when he heard soft footsteps behind him.   
  
"Oh, Sumeragi-san. I should have made something. I fell asleep instead."   
  
"You're not my wife, Fuuma." He poured the noodles into the pot, along with a white pouch.   
  
Fuuma grabbed two spoons and fished it out. "That's the cheese. It's in a waterproof package, lucky for guys like us."   
  
"Oh."   
  
When Subaru didn't glance up from the pot, Fuuma gave him a long look. Subaru drained the noodles into the sink.   
  
"You're working too hard, aren't you, Sumeragi-san."   
  
Subaru huffed. "If you're going to act like my mother, you might as well call me by my first name."   
  
"Ahh… alright, Subaru… kun?"   
  
Fuuma had never seen anyone wilt.   
  
"Please… just 'Subaru', if you're going to call me anything."   
  
Fuuma wanted to apologize, but he wasn't sure what for. He opened his mouth several times. "…Subaru."   
  
"Now what?" He sounded hollow, as if he overbalanced for annoyance.   
  
"Ah, suman… Thank you for taking off my shoes, earlier."   
  
Subaru mashed the butter into the noodles, stirring more vigorously than the directions called for. "Mm."   
  
Fuuma wanted to ask what was bothering his host, but knew pushing him to speak was a very bad idea. He set the small table with two bowls and forks. "Is Sprite okay? Tea's better, but it's after midnight and it's caffeinated, and I have class in the morning."   
  
"I don't care."   
  
Subaru didn't much want to eat with the boy, but putting up resistance would be too troublesome.   
  
The pair sat at the low table to eat Macaroni and cheese.   
  
"Itadakimasu."   
  
They ate in silence until Fuuma couldn't bear it any longer. Subaru hadn't given him any answers, and would probably avoid him for another week if given the chance.   
  
"Subaru."   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"Do you know anything about why I was in Shinjuku?   
  
Subaru paused with the fork halfway to his mouth.   
  
"Even a guess?! Subaru, I need to know."   
  
"I haven't thought much about it, and even if I had, there's not much information to go on. I'm afraid I can't tell you much."   
  
"That's fine."   
  
Subaru closed his eyes and inhaled.   
  
"You won't like this."   
  
Fuuma's fork hit the bowl. "Just tell me, damn it. You're the only person who can!" He caught himself and felt embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm just… you're my only lifeline." He stared into his noodles.   
  
Long moments passed.   
  
"Shinjuku was a Kekkai protecting Tokyo, so you're naturally drawn to it."   
  
"What does that have to do with anything?"   
  
"You were a destructive Kamui for a very long time. Generally, that person is never intended to survive past the battle, regardless of the outcome. Yet you are alive." He paused, allowing Fuuma to absorb the information. "Your blackouts might be the Dragon of Earth's Kamui breaking free in your consciousness."   
  
Fuuma sat back. "I'm not… I'm not him anymore," he dropped to a whisper. "because I traded with…" Fuuma bit off the end if his thought. _'And Kamui...'_   
  
"I think you're not fully recovered from being the Dragon of Earth's Kamui. I also think they're not really 'blackouts' like you believe them to be."   
  
Fuuma could only poke at the runny yellow noodles. "Then what?"   
  
"You're not allowed to feel regret, are you?"   
  
His hand stopped in mid-poke.   
  
"I see."   
  
"I suppose you want to object on the grounds of duality, don't you? It's not impossible to be both good… and evil… at once. But keep in mind, this is just a theory."   
  
"So because I'm not dead, I'm destroying things that had to do with 1999. Wonderful." He sipped his soda. "But doesn't that put you in danger, too?"   
  
Subaru smiled, distantly. With the power he had before now doubled with the power of Seishirou-san's old position, he was probably the most magically gifted person in the world, if not in all of history.   
  
"No, I think I can take care of myself."   
  
Fuuma chortled at that.   
  
"What?" Subaru blinked. He hadn't said anything funny.   
  
Fuuma tried to hide his laughter in his glass. "You can't even make mac-and-cheese without messing it up, Subaru."   
  
Subaru wrinkled his nose, then sighed. "It's pretty disgusting, isn't it."   
  
"Saitei dazo. I think I'll stick around just to make sure you don't poison yourself some day."   
  
Subaru rolled his eyes. "Thanks." He checked his watch, noting the time. "It's pretty late, so you'd better actually make it to bed this time."   
  
Fuuma stood, stretching. "You're going to keep working? This late?"   
  
"Aah."   
  
"Good luck, then. I'll check in with you before I leave for classes."   
  
"Fuuma?" At Subaru's call, the boy halted, swinging his head around the corner. Subaru smiled. "Thanks. Not just for making sure I'm alright, but for taking this well, and giving me company."   
  
"Hai, hai. We all know I'm just a pathetic leach on your resources." He winked, disappearing.   
  
Subaru shook his head and cleared the table. Maybe he wouldn't avoid the kid quite so much in the future. Something in his attitude reminded him of Hokuto's fresh optimism.   
  
And he realized it'd been a long time since he'd heard anyone laugh.


	5. Chapter 4

  
  
**Omina Sol Temperat - Chapter 4**   
  
---   
  
_Sumeragi-sama, leader of the Sumeragi clan of Onmyouji, I write to you now of what has been made taboo. A grave tragedy has befallen the clan. Never before in the 1600 years of the line of Onmyoujitsu has a member committed crimes against the balance of nature and sanctity of human life.   
  
I am deeply scarred by the events of this past year, but I shall attempt to retell them in order as an accurate history of the Eleventh Year of the __Edo__ Bakufu.   
  
Here follows an account of the Sumeragi Hishihiro family.   
  
My elder brother Akimoto and I are twin sons of Sumeragi Hishihiro, the previous leader of the Onmyouji. We had equal potential and equal training. Though we were similar in ability and training, my elder brother had greater insight into the use and creation of magical foci. My elder brother received the rites of clan leadership at the age of twelve, when our father unexpectedly passed away, and there was much expectation for his long and successful leadership.   
  
He hypothesized that the simple relocation of antagonistic spirits relocates the damage from one area to another and does no good for the whole of the world because it preserves the balance of energies. My elder brother wished to benefit the world by eliminating unhealthy spirits.   
  
Naturally, this practice is against the fundamental laws which balance the universe.   
  
My elder brother Akimoto, from a young age, believed in temporary sacrifice for long term gain. He studied and trained for long years to the brink of physical starvation to develop a method which would dispose of unhealthy magical energy. He worked for eight years to create a method to expunge negative forces.   
  
The day of our twentieth birthday, in the eleventh year of the __Edo__ Bakufu, my elder brother Akimoto came to me with news of his horrific success.   
_  
---   
  
Subaru woke up the following evening with a tremendous headache. For a moment, he couldn't identify the source of the pain, but then he remembered the job of the previous night with sickening clarity.   
  
Sometimes the government assigns horrible targets. Last night's job had him murder an innocent young woman who had accidentally witnessed a confidential transaction. She spoke very poor Japanese. Subaru swore he saw a flash of recognition in her eyes. Perhaps she saw Hokuto's face in his own. Perhaps the two of them had been friends, once.   
  
Subaru made tea to cleanse the taste of stale vomit from his mouth. It wasn't fair. But dwelling on the subjects of life and death would only make him feel worse. He wasn't sure how long he'd sat staring blankly and thumbing the rim of his tea mug when he heard the apartment door open and close. Fuuma deposited his backpack at the entryway and entered the room smiling.   
  
"Yo, Subaru!" The boy smelled of fresh air and sunlight. "I didn't think you'd be up yet. I guess I don't get to ask this often, but what are you hungry for tonight?"   
  
Subaru forced a smile. "Nothing. I have tea. Thank you."   
  
Fuuma just kept talking. "We could make anything you feel like eating. I picked up lots of things yesterday. Take your pick. I'm kind of hungry for beef and bell pepper, actually. Do you mind?" He was rummaging in the fridge already.   
  
Subaru leaned back in his chair to peer at Fuuma, who was half obscured by the fridge door. "Make what you want. It doesn't matter to me."   
  
"Are you saying you're not eating?" he asked in a dangerous tone.   
  
"I don't feel like food."   
  
Fuuma rolled his eyes. "Like you expect me to believe that? You're eating, even if I have to tie you to that chair and spoon-feed it to you. Alright?" He mumbled something under his breath as he turned back to scan the contents of the fridge.   
  
"What'd you say, just now?"   
  
Fuuma pretended not to hear until Subaru prompted him again. And even then, his response was a weak "…nothing."   
  
"Fuuma."   
  
"You're going to laugh. But I said that you might pass for sexy if you filled out your frame a little." He laughed, refusing to be embarrassed. "Admit it, Subaru. You're barely more than a stick figure." He winked and smiled.   
  
Since the smile looked genuinely concerned, Subaru couldn't resist any further. He was in no mood to a fight with his housemate over something so trivial.   
  
"I'm glad you see it my way." Fuuma nodded, smiling brightly. "Want to help me cook?"   
  
"Sure. I'll dial if you talk..."   
  
Fuuma laughed aloud. "Deal."   
  
Dinner of "Beef and Bell Pepper Special #28" passed uneventfully, and Subaru found that his headache diminished slightly when his blood sugar rose. Subaru reluctantly made a mental note to stock some granola bars in the pantry. Fuuma had been talkative, and in a way, his company was relaxing. Fuuma made them both large mugs of instant cappuccino, with real milk and real chocolate, and the pair of them sat comfortably discussing Fuuma's classes at Clamp Campus.   
  
Fuuma talked excitedly. "I did take a week of self defense with Suoh-sensei, but that didn't really interest me."   
  
"Only a week?"   
  
"Would you believe it? Suoh-sensei wouldn't fight me!"   
  
Subaru nearly choked on a sip of his coffee. He looked at Fuuma's build appraisingly, the corners of his mouth turned upward. "Do you even need a class in self defense?"   
  
Fuuma blinked several times. "Of course I need a class in self defense," he deadpanned, "how else would I fend off the swarms of college women after my body?" He flexed demonstratively.   
  
Subaru paused for a second. He then smiled back, playing into the gag. He said flatly, "You're right – you're incredibly attractive. How could anyone resist you?"   
  
Fuuma grinned. "That's right, I'm irresistible." He laughed loudly. "Irresistible, talented, brilliant… what am I doing without a special someone in my life?" He chuckled loudly.   
  
Subaru abruptly stopped laughing.   
  
"In case you forgot, Fuuma, you killed him two years ago."   
  
Subaru then calmly rinsed his plate in the kitchen. Odd how he didn't need to see his hands to know what they were doing. They were shaking. And something just below his throat hurt and twisted. His eyes burned, too.   
  
"Subaru – wait."   
  
Something caught him by the forearms when he turned blindly from the sink. Subaru struggled; he didn't feel like talking. The grip then forced him against the countertop, presumably to keep him from running, and a thumb found his chin, lifting it, but he refused to meet Fuuma's eyes.   
  
He took a deep breath. "Fuuma, let me go."   
  
"Look at me, Subaru. Just look at me. Okay? …It'll be alright."   
  
"NO!" He tried to wrestle out of the grip on his shoulder, but failed. It just tightened to the point of pain. There would be a nice bruise the next day. "It's NOT just 'alright'!" Fuuma killed Kamui. Fuuma took his eye. Fuuma took out entire sections of Tokyo. Fuuma hurt everyone he'd ever been close to. This was the same Fuuma who stabbed a young girl, his only sister, through the heart. And laughed.   
  
"Subaru! Damn it, it's not like I'm being an asshole, here. I'm trying to fucking take care of you! What the hell is wrong with you, Subaru?"   
  
Subaru's voice was streaked with pain as he struggled. "You're asking what's wrong with me? You're the demented one! You're the one who came for my help, aren't you?" I don't _need_ your help! You killed Kamui, and now you're making sick jokes about it. He was taking blind kicks at Fuuma's legs. "You're a cold-blooded murderer… you barely feel sorry for it!"   
  
One of Fuuma's eyebrows raised. "You're worse. You get paid for it."   
  
"SHUT UP!" Fuuma dodged a weak swing of his. "You have no idea what it's like, do you!? Living every day disgusted with yourself. You killed innocent people! Lots of them! Scared ones! You have no RIGHT to tell me I need you! Leave me the HELL alone, Seishirou-san!!"   
  
Subaru coughed, heaved, and doubled over to vomit on the floor.   
  
"Just… leave me alone… Seishirou-san…"   
  
Fuuma picked him up by the arms and looked straight into Subaru's blank, mismatched stare.   
  
"In case you forgot, Subaru, you killed him two years ago." Subaru was shaking, his face was blanched. "Now, let's get you back to bed, okay? I'll get you some water."   
  
Subaru was talking to no one. "You're changing the subject again. You always change the subject…"   
  
Fuuma looked at him squarely. He wiped a little from the corner of Subaru's small mouth. "Subaru…you have issues. You know that? Seishirou's dead."   
  
"But you… looked… like him…just now. And it's happening all over again," Subaru sobbed. "Get away from me… just go away… Fuuma…"   
  
"That's where you're wrong. I'm different now. And you asked me to take your eye, remember? Fuck it, Subaru. I'm just trying to help. Why can't you _accept_ that?"   
  
Subaru was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded.   
  
"Will you let me clean you up at least, Subaru?"   
  
Subaru nodded weakly again. He couldn't remember why he'd taken Fuuma in to begin with, and he couldn't remember why Fuuma was still living with him. The latter question he asked aloud.   
  
"Why are you still here?"   
  
"…because you'd die of starvation and alienation if I weren't?"   
  
Subaru supposed that answer was good enough. He really didn't feel like thinking very hard about anything. Nothing made sense enough to deserve attention. What he really wanted was a good, hard drink. He realized this as Fuuma was pulling the covers up to his chin. Maybe, if Fuuma really was trying to help him…   
  
"Wallet… end table… take 5000 yen and get some… alcohol… please?"   
  
Fuuma actually laughed. "On an empty stomach, so early after you've woken up, and risk seeing you get even _more_ depressed? Nope. Sorry, I refuse."   
  
"I just want to pass out… maybe kill some brain cells… the ones that make me remember…" He curled into the fetal position. "It just hurts… too much."   
  
Fuuma looked at the floor. "And I make it worse," he said, under his breath. "But all I can do is try to make things better for you." He brushed bangs from Subaru's forehead. "Sleep now. You'll feel better later."   
  
When he was sure Subaru was asleep again, Fuuma left the man's bedside and went into his own room. A full length mirror greeted him.   
  
Fuuma pulled off his shoe and shattered the glass.


	6. Chapter 5

**_Notes:_**_ I have to apologize for the shortness of this chapter... as well as the evil cliffhanger of doom. If I say the next chapter will be citrus, will that make it any better? Or no, probably not. ;   
  
_

**Omina Sol Temperat - Chapter 5**   
  
Subaru, unable to force himself back to sleep so early in the evening, figured he needed a smoke. He had been trying to quit because it reminded him of Seishirou, but now he _wanted_ the familiar dusky, acidic smell and taste of a cigarette between his lips.   
  
Somehow or another, it all came back to Seishirou-san. Subaru never would really forget him; the man was as much a part of his soul as his deepest feelings, as much a part of his body as his sight, as much a part of his daily life as his profession. Seishirou was always in everything he did, everything he was. Subaru lit a cigarette with steady hands and leaned against the railing outside his apartment. It was raining.   
  
He hadn't noticed Fuuma inside the apartment, but he hadn't looked for him either. Being around the boy was something he couldn't take right now. He wasn't sure how much longer living with this kid would be a good idea.   
  
He drew heavily on the cigarette, closing his eyes.   
  
A tiny voice told him that Fuuma's presence wasn't _entirely_ unwelcome. Subaru hadn't genuinely smiled, let alone joked, with anyone since Hokuto's death, he hadn't really spoken to a person casually since Kamui's. This past month, he'd felt strangely good.   
  
Fuuma made sure he ate regularly, much like Hokuto had. He wasn't much of a cook, but caloric intake, a foreign concept to the Sumeragi, wasn't lost on Fuuma. The truth was, Subaru hadn't felt nearly as healthy in a decade. The grateful part of him knew he owed at least something to the boy.   
  
He stubbed out the filter.   
  
One week. He'd give it one week in case Fuuma had another episode. If not, he was on his own, and that would be better for both of them.   
  
Subaru found a banana in the kitchen and returned to his bedroom. If anything would help him get his mind off of the current situation, it would be translation work. After a few minutes, he wouldn't even be aware of the time. He settled into a comfortable position and unrolled the scroll.   
  
--   
_  
As it happened, elder brother Akimoto thought he cold seal restless spirits and organically decompose them over time. He believed this method would eliminate evil, rather than relocating it, more effectively disposing of black energies. When he came to me to confide the method he believed would revolutionize the practice of Onmyoujyutsu, he believed he would be remembered and honored as much as the Sumeragi leader who would participate in the Fate of the World, so much was his ambition.   
  
He planned to cleanse the world of anxious spirits in the most beautiful and serene way he could conceive, so he planted the blood red seed of one cherry into the ground and granted it the power to absorb spiritual energy.   
  
When he informed me of these preparations, I warned him of the danger of such an act: no human soul can be successfully removed from the world unless it is fully released and sent to the beyond. But my elder brother disagreed; the greatness of both his folly and ambition rendered him completely blind to the misconceptions in his work. He refused to listen to reason, refused to work along the principles and teachings set forth by our ancestors, and we grew further apart with each passing month.   
  
During the winter of this past year, I visited my twin brother, the leader of the Onmyouji clan, and his perverse creation, the soul-consuming tree. My intent was to make amends, but as it often happens, the outcome of our meeting was quite the opposite of what we each intended.   
  
As I had expected, the unnatural Sakura Tree began to rely on a steady supply of spiritual energy and human souls; the retention device began demanding victims. It had grown to a grotesque size in just weeks. My elder brother seemed profoundly disturbed when I found him, perched in the branches of his creation. He insisted the Tree demanded blood from him.   
  
I attempted to reason with him once again, but my entreaties fell on deaf ears. He was scarcely aware of himself; the brother I had once loved was gone and would not return. In the twelfth month of the Eleventh Year of the __Edo__ Bakufu, under crimson branches, I, Sumeragi Senkari, overtook my brother as the leader of the Onmyouji clan, and my brother Akimoto became first Guardian of the Sakura Burial Mound.   
_  
--   
  
It was after three in the morning when Subaru finally shifted position on the floor. He wiggled a little numbness from his toes, and standing, recognized a twinge in his stomach he identified as hunger. He padded to the kitchen to see what kinds of things Fuuma had picked up from the store.   
  
Ramen cups, Little Debbie snack rolls, frozen pizza, frosted flakes, ice cream sandwich bars, diet cola…. and none of it looked remotely appetizing. He finally settled on an ice cream sandwich and a can of diet coke, wondering where Fuuma learned the concept of "nutrition" he seemed so enthusiastic about.   
  
Since he wasn't sure how to handle the inevitable awkward situation with Fuuma, he was fairly glad not to have seen him all evening. Subaru knew he would have to eventually accept the fact that Seishirou-san was gone, and wouldn't be coming back.   
  
Suddenly, Subaru was jarred from his thoughts by a fist colliding with his front door. Judging by the intensity and speed, and not to mention the time of night, it was probably fairly urgent.   
  
Subaru sucked the last bit of ice cream from his thumb and answered the door.   
  
He opened it to a very wet, very intimidating Fuuma. Cliché as it was, a crash of thunder punctuated his slow, smirking greeting. "Hello, Subaru."   
  
Subaru sighed. "Oh, it's just you, Fuuma." He turned from the door, not really wanting a conversation with the boy right now. "Let me get you a towel. Don't you have a key?"   
  
"You're wrong… on both counts." He slipped an arm around Subaru's slender torso from behind. "You can call me Kamui," came a throaty whisper near his ear.   
  
Subaru looked down, and a sarcastic part of his brain noted that it was a good thing he knew good tricks to get blood stains out from clothing. This was likely the last thing he should be concerned about. Fuuma's hand was covered with thick, drying blood, and some of it was now on his favorite white t-shirt.   
  
"Which kekkai was it this time?" Struggling would be no good, but perhaps if he bought a little time…   
  
"No kekkai, just a few loose ends." The smirk was bigger than ever, judging by the sound of his voice.   
  
"Were they Dragons of Heaven or Earth?" Subaru felt very sick.   
  
"A Windmaster, a Miko, an Environmentalist… so I guess you could say a mixed bag," he chuckled. "There are still a few worth taking care of… You, for instance."   
  
"You mean to kill me?"   
  
"Actually, I'm thinking I won't have to. You're very amusing, you know." He flipped Subaru around, still holding him closely. He ran a single finger ran down ivory cheek, staining it crimson. "Subaru-kun," he mumbled, closely emulating another rich tenor. "I'm hoping you would kill me instead."


	7. Chapter 6

_Notes: in compliance with FFn's regulation on content, this chapter has been edited **to maintain a PG-13 rating**. The unedited, thousand word longer, NC-17 version is available at CLAMPesque. _

_Please comment **here**, though, and not over there, so it's not just "Anonymous" on their boards. _

_Danke!_

**Omnia Sol Temperat - Chapter 6**   
  
The only thought he could give voice to sounded pathetic and small: "Why do you want me to kill you?"   
  
Outside, it continued raining.   
  
Fuuma gave a low, languorous chuckle which caused Subaru's skin to prickle. "Isn't is obvious, Subaru-kun?"   
  
"Don't," He stiffened. "Don't call me that."   
  
"Oh? You're in quite the position to be making demands, aren't you?" Another bolt of electricity struck nearby, and Subaru felt the electric energy spike in the room and watched a sneer play across the flash-lit features.   
  
Subaru met the stare with equal intensity.   
  
"Here are your alternatives, Subaru-kun… One, I could take all the fun out of this and," he tossed his head to the side, "kill you now…"   
  
A hand drifted dangerously low on Subaru's back, causing a jag of anger to shoot through his system.   
  
"You think I'd let you?" Subaru spat.   
  
The grip tightened around Subaru's waist, and he found himself looking into Fuuma's eyes through the dim light. "Saa. But it's worth finding out, don't you agree?" His tone softened to a rumbling whisper. "For me either way is acceptable… If you fight me, you wouldn't hesitate to use all of your power."   
  
Subaru blinked slowly.   
  
"So adorable, my Subaru-kun," he smiled stickily. "Force would stop me quite effectively."   
  
"No!" Fuuma was losing his mind. It was obvious he hadn't lost his identity of the Dragon of Earth's Kamui, even though he simultaneously posessed the identity of Dragon of Heaven's as well.   
  
Subaru felt a twist of unwelcome sympathy.   
  
He knew Fuuma must feel confused and broken, stretched between two extremes of light and dark, wishing for life and wishing for death. Equally Sakurazukamori and Sumeragi, Subaru understood this suffering from his own experience. At a younger age, he would have shed tears at the unfairness that faced them both.   
  
Fuuma's suppressed pain would only fester in the wound. In his own case, he knew that keeping his own pain tightly bound, as Seishirou-san had, had been slowly distorting his mind, so he allowed himself to visit the penguins in Ikebukuro every other week. He paid the extra fee to visit Tokyo Tower's observation deck whenever he felt lost and cold. When he stood there overlooking Tokyo, feeling tears fall from Seishirou-san's eye felt right, as if he were crying tears Seishirou-san hadn't been able to let go.   
  
In a sense, depression was enough.   
  
Kamui's wish had blocked the outflow of Fuuma's feelings.   
  
Subaru chilled. What would happen to Fuuma's mind, torn between two extremes, without an outlet?   
  
It slipped, obviously. It exploded with all the force of restrained energy of tectonic plate collisions. The dark Kamui appeared after long periods of pressure and stress, so all his attacks were very likely perverted manifestations of his guilt and pain. And Subaru's empathy screamed that, yes, suicide often seemed like the sole path away from this unparalleled torture. It would be merciful of him to relieve Fuuma. He would have peace. The killings would stop.   
  
But he couldn't.   
  
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't.   
  
"I'd also destroy the kekkai… I can't do that." Subaru fought to remain impassive.   
  
"And it would make my job so much easier. Just a little of your ability would be all it took, too, since you're too weak to _properly_ restrain yourself." Fuuma laughed mirthfully.   
  
"Of course, I would do it myself: drown in a pool, overdose on sleeping pills, have a run-in with a kitchen knife… but suicide," he sighed, as if delegating away an unpleasant task, "would make the kekkai permanent… And last I checked, if I want someone to… you're the only one on the planet with enough power." He leaned close, millimeters from Subaru's mouth.   
  
"Please?"   
  
But there were two things Subaru would never allow, and one was the collapse of the earth's kekkai. Subaru rolled from his grip the moment he felt it loosen around him.   
  
"Oh, so you'll fight me?" Fuuma sounded amused. He took strides forward until Subaru found himself backed into a corner of his living room. "Finally."   
  
Subaru knew he must have looked anything but threatening: empathy and grief made him look younger, wiping the steel and jade from his eyes. Subaru visibly shrank, and his eyes closed.   
  
"I won't."   
  
Silence stretched between them like glacial ice as Subaru's quickened pulse dilated time itself. Heavy rain beat against the glass of a window.   
  
"Martyrship is so very cute, isn't it."   
  
Behind the darkness of closed lids, Subaru felt inevitable smoothness against his mouth.   
  
_Is this kissing?_ Subaru's last kiss had also been his first, and though he tried to commit the sensation to memory, it must have escaped him in the emotional flurry.   
  
He remembered he'd pressed himself to Seishirou-san's whitening lips, and they had responded eagerly. But movement faded after just a few moments of contact. Subaru continued the kiss until it grew cold to the touch, then buried hot tears in the lapel of a ruined suit. Seishirou had tasted of death and tobacco, and kissing was all of these things to Subaru.   
  
Fuuma yanked Subaru from his consuming déjà vu by slipping his tongue tip delicately along the lower lip. Before Subaru could react, he felt warm silk within his mouth, stroking his tongue into response.   
  
It felt beautiful, whole.   
  
Centuries later, he pulled away slightly, keeping his eyes shut. His throat closed off as he exhaled a jagged, breath-filled "_Seishirou-san._"   
  
"Subaru-kun," came the equally lust-heavy response.   
  
"Sei-?"   
  
He was silenced with a feather-light kiss.   
  
Confusion darkened his brow, but love for Seishirou-san derailed any train of thought he'd once had. Problems dissolved in his mind, and suddenly, it seemed as if… as if he could have Seishirou-san, if only for a moment.   
  
"Or do you not want… this…" Soft fingers were running along the trace of his spine.   
  
And it would be enough. If something had been bothering him, he couldn't remember quite what it had been. He instead reached around broad shoulders to draw Seishirou-san's scent closer. This felt too right to let go.   
  
"Don't leave me."   
  
It was all the encouragement he needed to sweep Suabru into another soul-involving, sensory-blowing kiss.   
  
Subaru's inexperience caused him to fumble for a few moments, but decided quickly that he kind of liked kissing. He realized he hadn't been in any actual physical contact with another person in… years.   
  
Prolonged deprivation heightens everything. His hands had been the same way, without gloves; the most nuanced shifts felt strange, intense. Subaru surrendered his mind: he drowned in the sensation of touch.    
  
And then Seishirou-san withdrew. _No!_ Subaru broke open and clutched violently at the shoulders against his chest. _Don't leave me._ He wouldn't be left alone and broken a third time. _I don't care what you've done or who you really are or who you've killed or how you hurt me. Just don't leave._ He laid biting kisses along a strong neck. _Stay…_   
  
Something at the back of his mind wanted attention, but Subaru had no energy to spare a thought for it. He blinked, but his eyes quickly relaxed closed again when he felt gentle fingers massaging his scalp.

_Seishirou-san._


	8. Chapter 7

**Omnia Sol Temperat - Chapter 7**   
  
_It was Saturday night, and they had spent the evening together in Subaru's apartment.   
  
Smiling softly, the boy ghosted a gloved finger around the outline of Seishirou-san's face. It looked ethereal and beautiful, strangely highlighted by the flickering, muted static of a video cassette long out-spooled. Seishirou was asleep. Halfway though the film, the man had drifted off with a cheek to Subaru's thigh, and then an hour ago Subaru had carefully removed and folded his glasses and placed them on an end table to keep them safe.   
  
Seishirou breathed slowly, the current of air bending a stray hair toward his face by a few millimeters. Subaru considered how peaceful he looked, and he decided that with a profession as demanding as his, it was probably rare for the man to simply unwind. Seishirou-san had looked a little more tired than usual this past week, which meant that any normal human being would be already threadbare; he was definitely entitled to his rest. Subaru smiled a little at how open and relaxed he looked now: he even looked a little younger than usual.   
  
With nothing better to do, Subaru gingerly moved a few strands of floppy hair back behind an ear. An intimate gesture, he realized only after he'd done it. Seishirou didn't react in his sleep, and Hokuto didn't pounce from nowhere to tease him. His cheeks heated in embarrassment anyway. Something squeezed and pulled inside. He didn't notice the scar-twinge on the back of his hands over the heavy, contracting thumps of his heart.   
  
He told himself it was no big deal to smooth Seishirou-san's hair. It was just a courtesy, like removing his glasses, to make him more comfortable. But his warming ears disagreed. Subaru smiled slightly, comfortable with the weight near his hip and the sound of low breathing. He wouldn't allow his own thoughts to make him feel awkward. He was determined to enjoy the comfort and simplicity of the moment without shame.   
  
And so now, at last free from teasing or ridicule and with nothing better to do in the flickering gray light, he sat toying with a strand of hair, repeatedly brushing it back into place against gravity's will. Subaru smiled: it was like black silk against black silk.   
  
-Subaru-kun, do you find me sexy?-   
  
Seishirou's catch phrase would have made a better joke if it had been a little further from the truth. Seishirou-san was very handsome and intelligent; Subaru envied his solid, calm confidence and strength. Often, Subaru looked up to him with full respect and trust.   
  
-But I know I'm not worthy for you.-   
  
But how could that be? In his own eyes, Subaru was just an average teenage boy, too thin to be imposing, too easily embarrassed to be respectable. He even looked too young for his age. He was awkward, clumsy, and stood out miserably in crowds. There was really nothing special that he himself possessed, except the friendship of Seishirou and the love of his sister. He was happiest when they were happy, too.   
  
Subaru swallowed with a guilty idea.   
  
It'd be best to simply forget it, but indecision tore at his chest. Finally squelching thoughts of shame he gathered his courage. He could do it now because no one was looking. Subaru, cheeks aflame, pressed a quick kiss to Seishirou-san's temple, then smoothed hair back over it as if to hide the evidence.   
  
"Good night, Seishirou-san."   
  
Subaru felt the weight of sleep heavy on his eyelids as well, so he pried off his shoes with his toes and leaned back on the sofa. His fingers were still intermixed with Seishirou-san's hair, but he liked it that way, so he didn't bother to move. It was the most comfortable he could ever remember feeling. The hollow feeling inside was gone, too.   
  
Breaths slowed and deepened, until sleep took him as well.   
_  
  
---   
  
Subaru's mouth twitched into an unfamiliar smile; there were gentle fingers on his scalp, easing him from his dream. It was already late twilight. It felt so comfortable here in bed, and he was so well rested that it seemed a good idea to just lay a little longer.   
  
"Morning, adorable. Sleep well?"   
  
He sighed happily. "Better than in ages, Seishirou-san…"   
  
The deeper voice chuckled at that. "That's good to hear." There was a shuffling of sheets. Maybe it was the bleariness of half-sleep, but the voice sounded different, a little less familiar, after the pause. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to get cleaned up before I make us breakfast, eh?"   
  
Subaru turned his head almost expecting to see two people in the room. "Fuuma..?" To which the figure shook his head and shrugged. A torrent of half-formed thoughts, questions, and emotions overwhelmed his fogged mind. He blinked, regaining focus. "I need a cigarette."   
  
"Bet you do." Fuuma extended a pack, taking one for himself.   
  
Subaru brushed it away with a glare. "I don't smoke inside."   
  
He shrugged. "Want to talk outside, then?"   
  
Going outside would require putting on clothes. And while not being nude around a deranged Fuuma didn't sound like a bad idea, getting dressed required first getting clean. All of it was energy he didn't want to spend.   
  
"Eh, never mind, the cigarette can wait." Subaru sat up, gathering the bedclothes around him protectively. Fuuma was already in shirt and boxers – how long had he been up already?   
  
"We're going to have a heart-to-heart? That's really adorable. I thought you'd want my head torn off by your shiki-bird-things by now."   
  
Subaru shook his head. It his fault this happened, because in the back of his mind, he knew he'd slept with Fuuma, and didn't care. "I can do that anytime. It's just interesting that you're…"   
  
Fuuma's eyes lit. "Not trying to kill you right now?" Subaru looked away; he would have phrased it more elegantly.   
  
"You're just acting… almost normal."   
  
"Well, sorry." Extending his hands, he looked offended. "I'm the good guy, here." He brushed some hair from his face and readjusted his glasses. "Would it be too simple to say it's because you wish it?" He looked into Subaru's eyes. "I'm actually a very nice person. I help realize wishes… If anything, I help people who can't do things for themselves."   
  
Subaru laughed indignantly. "You wanted to kill everyone because the planet wished it, right?"   
  
"It did, and part of it still does. And quite many people wished their suffering would end, so don't villianize me."   
  
"Killed them so violently." He stared intently at the wall across the room. "You had fun murdering them."   
  
Fuuma shrugged. "What's wrong with having fun while we do what we need to do? It makes the job easier."   
  
He could accept the sideways reasoning, but there was a note of strain he couldn't keep from coloring his voice when he asked about himself. "But why attack me last night? Don't tell me it's what I wished for."   
  
"You're smart, aren't you." Fuuma grinned at that. "It may have been a selfish moment on my part… I'm supposed to be happy, and I thought it would make me happy to be killed. That's something you understood, isn't it? If I could've scared you into stabbing me through the heart, it would've really helped me out.   
  
"As for this," he gestured toward the bed, "it was a combination of both our wishes. You wished to be with your Sakurazukamori, and if the illusion didn't work right, there was a high probability you'd attack me for molesting you anyway. You can see how it was a win-win situation, can't you?"   
  
Subaru took a moment to digest this. "…You're fundamentally twisted." He rolled over again and flopped down on the pillow. He should have known Fuuma like this was completely nuts.   
  
"That's what two and a half years without a good lay will do," he chuckled.   
  
Subaru's cheeks burned. He'd gotten along just fine his whole life. "Only if you're a perv–" Numbers clicked in his head. "W-wait. Two an a half? Don't tell me you..." He still couldn't quite bring himself to say Kamui's name, but that would explain the boy's jumpiness and emotional trauma, not to mention physical weakness against his twin star.   
  
"Quite the reverse. He nailed me. Couldn't stand to be submissive."   
  
Subaru blinked.   
  
"He was good though, so I adapted a few of his 'techniques' just for you."   
  
"No. S-Seishirou-san would never…" Subaru's guts flip-flopped.   
  
"Well, _you_ never did anything to ease his frustration," he offered. "And don't look at me like someone ate your cheesecake. It was purely sexual, and it was on my proposal, not his. I couldn't even stop him from moping about it later. That's your problem: neither of you really ever knew what you wanted. You know, what he really wanted was your cute ass, and I'm such a nice guy I that filled in the blanks and gave him at least an illusion of what he wanted, screams and all." He shook his head. "Speaking of which, I know _exactly_ how it hurts. You don't have to pretend it doesn't. The Sakurazukamori did the same to me, and it hurt like a—"   
  
"Stop."   
  
"Of course, I used proper lube and he grabbed the first thing he—"   
  
"I really don't want to hear the gory details of the sex between you and Seishirou-san." Subaru shivered involuntarily, feeling dirtier by the second.   
  
Fuuma cast him an appraising look. "Cold? You should get clean."   
  
Clean? He frowned; the blood on his clothing would have set by now, and it'd be harder to get out. The blood of…   
  
Subaru winced. "The other Dragons?"   
  
"Who?"   
  
"Your loose ends."   
  
"…Come again?"   
  
"But the blood, their blood, on your hands. You killed them. You called them 'loose ends', didn't you. And now I have to get their REMAINS out of my clothes." Subaru swayed, feeling the room collapse in on him. His breathing quickened.   
  
If it were only his pain, he could deal with it. Involving his friends, the few people left he knew… Their pain fell on his conscience.   
  
"What? No, calm down. Cold water and ammonia. It gets ketchup out of fabric every time."   
  
Subaru stared.   
  
"Don't have an aneurism on me."   
  
"You fucking bastard."   
  
"You know, you're awfully cute when you swear."   
  
"Get out."   
  
The edge in Subaru's voice didn't seem to affect him. "You're hungry… Feel like pancakes or instant miso? I might make both."   
  
"Out."   
  
"Then don't blame me if you starve yourself to death," he shrugged and swung his legs off the mattress, scooted his feet into flip-flops, and actually went to the door. Over his shoulder, he left words of reassurance. "I'm only trying to help. I'm not as bad as you make me out to be."   
  
"You're just sadistic."   
  
"I prefer to call it altruistic," Fuuma winked. "See you in a few days… Get a shower, find some food… and I hope that soreness of yours heals quick, ne?"   
  
Subaru threw a pillow a second too late: the door was already closed.   
  
Exhausted, he flopped back down on the mattress. It was quite likely that Fuuma, at least his normal self, wouldn't remember any of this by tomorrow, so it was best not to worry himself sick over this. He really should get clean. And do some laundry. But first, he really needed a cigarette. He reached for the pack and lighter, refusing to care that he would probably set the apartment on fire by breaking his rule. Funny how rules don't seem to apply in a crisis.   
  
Before he got halfway done, he had to stub it out in the bathroom sink. All he could think about was Seishirou-san in bed with the dark Kamui, and it made his hands shake.   
  
But he hadn't been any better. Memories of the previous night cut vividly into his thoughts. Looking into the mirror then was a mistake: it reflected an amber eye back to his repentant green.   
  
"Seishirou-san... I'm sorry."   
  
Subaru showered under nearly scalding water until it ran out and left him with ice. He dressed, located his keys, and checked the clock. Luckily, the observation deck would be open for another three hours.   
  
He would see Tokyo's glittering lights again tonight with Seishirou-san.


End file.
